James Harden isn’t getting the same love he used to get from the officials.
At least, that’s what the Brooklyn Nets guard thinks, as he explained after Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” the 32-year-old said. “But it’s definitely — when I get to the basket, it’s the same calls the guys are getting. Obviously, you can’t call all of them. But there’s ones where there’s clearly stiff-arms and trips and things like that. But on the other end, there’s no consistency. So it’s frustrating.”
On one hand, Harden is far from alone in not getting calls the way he used to. With the NBA changing how it calls fouls this season, many players aren’t getting to post up at the charity stripe as much as they have in previous seasons. With rule changes also come some disparity and unevenness in calling things.
Nets coach Steve Nash even backed Harden up on thinking there is inconsistency since the ruling has changed, especially when it comes to Harden himself.
“I think there’s nights where it’s fair, and even including the points of emphasis this year,” Nash said. “Then there’s other nights where it feels like he gets targeted a little bit. It just automatically gets lumped into that point of emphasis where he is creating the foul, which is not always the case at all.”
That said, Harden is actually getting to the free throw line once more per game than last season, averaging 8.1 attempts per game according to Basketball-Reference compared to 7.3 last year. With that in mind, Harden’s comments about “inconsistency” make him look more like someone who fishes for fouls than one of the game’s most prolific players.
Harden’s scoring is down this season as well, though he’s still displaying an elite all-around offensive game. He is currently averaging 22.7 points, 10.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds. If his scoring doesn’t pick up, it’s likely he will only catch flack for complaining about not getting the foul calls he so desires.
